New $15M Investment in Gun Violence Prevention

Additional Funds Raise State Investment to $45M

This week, I was joined in West Philadelphia by Gov. Tom Wolf, gun violence victims and violence prevention providers to announce a $15 million increase in funding to further support grassroots prevention efforts in Philadelphia and across Pennsylvania.

The new investment comes on top of $30 million already committed by the administration for grants through the Pennsylvania Commission for Crime and Delinquency’s (PCCD) Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention program.  When the program was announced last year, applications outstripped appropriated resources by 7 to1.

I am grateful to the governor for his increasing commitment to neighborhood-based solutions and his faith in the people who are doing this incredibly challenging work. We know that the need is far greater than the funds available, but this announcement is another step toward closing that gap and helping families across Pennsylvania thrive in safer communities.

Senator Hughes and Gov. WolfLast year, Gov. Wolf worked with me to get gun violence prevention funding included in the budget and he has visited communities across Pennsylvania several times over the past year to discuss efforts to mitigate the rise in violence that has plagued Philadelphia as well as counties across Pennsylvania the U.S..  We both agree more needs to be done.

 “Pennsylvania, and the nation, continues to fight a tragic gun violence crisis. We need to spark change at a local level, which is why I’m glad to commit an addition $15 million to community-based gun violence prevention programs,” said Wolf. “But I also want to call on our legislators to partner with me over this next year to improve public safety and equity.

“This investment is one piece of the puzzle, but we also need to address the systemic and structural issues that cause inequity—and harm—in our society,” Wolf said. “We need to invest in schools, we need good jobs that pay fair wages, and we need to give communities across Pennsylvania the resources they need for a good quality of life.”

Michelle Nelson, mother of Philadelphia gun violence survivor Sadiq Nelson, joined me and the governor to share her story. The day after turning 19 in 2020, Sadiq was hit by stray gunfire shot when he was leaving work. His shattered femur took months to heal, but the emotional trauma remains. While her son is still alive, Bolling knows many mothers in their community whose children did not survive gun violence.

For more on this effort, click here.